1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and device for detecting and locating avalanche victims.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, devices of this type comprise an individual and autonomous radio transceiver to be carried or worn by each person exposed to the risk of being an avalanche victim. This transceiver transmits a signal in the form of electromagnetic waves at a standardized frequency capable of propagating through a layer of snow.
When an avalanche occurs, the people carrying or wearing the device can seek out and locate the avalanche victims themselves by way of the device's receiver function. It so happens that the survival of avalanche victims depends on the speed at which they are detected and located.
Searching for victims consists in methodically covering the zone snowed in by the avalanche, criss-crossing with passes 20 meters apart, listening for audible bleeps corresponding to the signal received by the receiver and transmitted by the device worn by the victim, and in heading in the direction in which the bleeps are of greatest amplitude.
Devices of this type also comprise a gain selector used to lower the noise level of the bleeps, thus enabling more accurate location of victims.
Experience has shown that the utilization of all existing devices requires serious training in order to obtain a good grasp of the victim search technique, as well as a minimum of concentration and an environment that is not noisy. However, after an avalanche, rescue workers, who usually belong to the same group as the victim(s), are panic-stricken and have difficulty concentrating for the purposes of accurately and methodically covering the search zone, perceiving variations in the amplitude of the bleeps and manipulating the gain selector, the latter being a difficult task to perform as rescue workers usually wear gloves to protect themselves against the cold.
In an endeavor to facilitate the search operation, it has already been proposed that a display be added to the device to make it easier to detect the maximum signal.